Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 3 i Canon Photography The Complete Manual

EF 11-24mm f/4L USM £2699/$2799/€2549 The best in ultra-wide-angle photography. ◼ Minimum focusing distance of 11 in./0.28m ◼ 9 diaphragm blades ◼ 16 element in 11 groups ◼ The widest angle rectilinear zoom lens ◼ Minimal distortion for architecture ◼ Advanced lens coatings ◼ Swift, nearly silent AF Pros: Astonishing scope and quality. Superb sharpness, colour rendition, and contrast. Cons: Colour fringing reported at 11mm. Sigma’s 12-24 might be an alternative. Heavy. EF 17-40mm f/4L USM £549/$799/€747 A lightweight and affordable ultra-wide zoom. ◼ Superb optical performance throughout the zoom range ◼ Fast autofocus speed ◼ Highly resistant to dust and moisture ◼ 28cm minimum focusing distance at all focal lengths ◼ 12 elements in 9 groups Pros: Quality L series lens. Incredible image quality and fast focusing. Relatively inexpensive. Cons:…

When shooting hand-held and wishing to avoid camera shake, as a rule of thumb you can safely use a shutter speed roughly equivalent to the reciprocal of the focal length you are using. For example if you’re using a 100mm focal length then you can take a sharp hand-held shot at a shutter speed of 1/100th of a second or faster. If you’re using a 35mm focal length then 1/35th of a second is safe, and so on. Many modern cameras include technology which can reduce the effects of camera shake at low shutter speeds. Many compact cameras use electronic processing to counteract movement, which does work but produces relatively poor image quality. Among digital SLR and CSC manufacturers there are two types of image stabilisation in common use. Canon,…

When you look at, for example, a sheet of white paper, your brain adjusts what you see so that it matches what you are expecting to see. However your digital camera doesn’t have any expectations, and the colour that it “sees” is the actual colour present in the scene. ‘White’ light visible to humans can actually vary in colour from reddish orange to greenish-blue. This variation is usually described as a temperature range, with warm being the red end and cold at the blue end, and is usually measured in degrees Kelvin using a colour meter. Confusingly, the higher the colour temperature, the cooler the tone and vice versa. We perceive various shades of white light illuminating a scene as neutral, a clever trick performed by our brains to maintain…

ISO, aperture and shutter speed are the three pillars of exposure. The main idea is that altering one of these three settings has an impact on exposure and therefore how your image looks. One or both of the other settings will have to be altered to maintain a balanced exposure. As you develop as a photographer, you will realise that once you are in control, you can create images that look more as you want, rather than what the camera thinks is right when in full auto mode.…

Since you can’t move the landscape around to suit your composition, choosing the right position to take your shot is all-important. Study the scene you want to capture and try to picture how it would look from higher up, lower down or from a different angle. Be aware of obstructions such as power lines and pylons, and try to choose a location that minimises their impact. The perfect location may involve a bit of hiking but it will be worth it. Don’t stay rooted to one spot; be prepared to move around a lot.…

Careful control of depth of field by adjusting aperture and focal length is one of the most striking creative techniques available to the photographer, and you don’t need any special equipment to do it, just your camera and a zoom lens. For this insect image, the photographer has used a 100mm, fast macro lens with a large maximum aperture of f2.8. This has resulted in a narrow depth of field, but by carefully focusing on the creature’s body the effect of this narrow plane of focus is to isolate the insect against what could otherwise be a distracting background of the green leaves and grass both behind, and in front of, the subject. “Large focal length lenses will demand higher shutter speeds and a good tripod.” One consideration to bear…

Overpowering the sun is not as strange as it might sound. It certainly makes for some striking portraits and has been very popular with fashion photographers for some time. Theaimistolightyoursubjectinsucha way that the sun, which is directly in front of you, becomes a fill light rather than the key light. You might imagine that you would need a second sun of equal brightness right? If you use the Sunny 16 Rule, you can expect your subject to photograph correctly in midday summer sunshine with camera settings off/16 at1/100s using ISO 100 (the shutter speed is always the reciprocal of the ISO number). Luckily, with a good enough flash set at full power just 7’ away, we are not only able to match the sun’s light output coming to us from…

As your photography skills increase and you delve deeper into the techniques available, you are very likely to encounter words like Neutral Density Filter, Graduated Filter and Polarising Filter. Filters, in this case, are not the kind of effects you add in Instagram at the touch of a button, these are physical items that are attached to your lens to alter the incoming light that is hitting your camera’s sensor. Don’t think of these filters as somehow being old-fashioned and just opt to do it all in post, filters are still a very relevant aspect of your photography skills and techniques and that’s why we wanted to introduce a few of them to you and give you an idea of what they can do. The idea of shooting a well-balanced…

Are you a new photographer? Have you just upgraded to a DSLR from your cameraphone and looking to take more inspired photos? We all have to start somewhere and chances are you’re not going to be creating sensational photographic works of art the moment you turn your new camera on. Despite professional photographers wanting us to believe it, they are not all born perfect master of their art. Mistakes happen, lessons have to be learned and experience has to be gained. It is also probably worth noting that you don’t have to be a newbie to make mistakes, anyone can do it. You are not alone. Sometimes, things happen that are not even necessarily mistakes. New photographers can get overwhelmed by all the new settings they have to employ to…

Colours of sunrise Sunrise goes through some particular phases, each with its own quality of light. Pre-dawn is usually cooler in tone, with lower dynamic range and soft shadows but the clouds will normally start lighting up before the sun actually gets to the horizon. The minutes before sunrise are generally more orange/yellow in tone and shadows become more obvious. Then, once the sun is a couple of degrees above the horizon, you get long shadows that reveal detail in the landscape, crisp highlights and a marked increase in contrast. Light up the horizon Never discount an overcast sky as an opportunity to photograph a possible sunrise or sunset. Sometimes the clouds may start to break and reveal a glowing horizon, making a very dramatic image. These moments may be…

EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM £180/$249/€245 A light and compact wide-angle zoom. ◼ Get more in every shot with this ultra-wide zoom lens ◼ Easy to carry thanks to a compact design ◼ Smooth, near-silent AF when shooting movies ◼ 4-stop Image Stabiliser ◼0.22m close focusing Pros: Smooth and quiet motor. Amazing 4 stops of image stabilisation. Exceptional image quality. Cons: It uses a plastic mount, not metal. Can be a bit soft at the widest apertures. EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II £149/$199/€129 Affordable general purpose lens. ◼ Lightweight, compact design ◼ Wide-angle to short telephoto range ◼ Four stop Image Stabiliser ◼ Aspherical lens elements ◼ 0.25m close-focusing distance ◼ Circular aperture diaphragm ◼ High-speed AF Pros: Excellent image quality, particularly around f/8. Low distortion. 4 stop stabilisation. Cons: Can…

The majesty of mono Don’t be a fair weather photographer. You don’t always need a stunning sunrise or glorious sunny day to undertake a photography session. Sometimes, a grey day can give up the goods as well as any sunny day. It’s just a case of approaching it from a different angle. If it is a lacklustre day, the shadows will be flat or non-existent and there will be very little contrast compared to a bright day. Make the most of form and texture instead. Also, perhaps you could shoot with the intent of doing a mono conversion such as the examples seen here.…

“Autofocus technology has improved immensely, and these days even the most basic modern AF systems are generally fast, accurate and reliable.” With only one or two exceptions, all current digital cameras have automatic focusing. The first autofocus systems were developed by Leica in the 1970s. The first autofocus compact camera, the Konica C35 AF, was introduced in 1977, and the first autofocus 35mm SLR, the Pentax ME-F, was launched in 1981. Since that time autofocus technology has improved immensely, and these days even the most basic modern AF systems are generally fast, accurate and reliable. Although we now rely on autofocus for the vast majority of photographs, anyone who has tried taking a photo in low light, with fast-moving subjects or using very long telephoto lenses will have noticed that…

Of the three main controls common to nearly all cameras, shutter speed, focus and aperture, it is aperture adjustment that is the least well understood. This is because it not only helps to control exposure, but also affects something called Depth of Field. Understanding the effects of aperture size is a vital skill for any keen photographer. At least there’s nothing mysterious about the name. The aperture is literally a hole through which light passes after it enters the lens. The diameter of this hole can be altered, allowing a greater or smaller amount of light to pass through on its way to the sensor. In the early days of photography, aperture was adjusted by slotting cards with different sized holes cut in them into the body of the camera…

Nearly all digital cameras, from top-of-the-range DSLRs to the humblest budget point-and-shoot compacts, have multiple light metering options. Knowing how and when to use these different metering modes can make a dramatic difference to the quality of your photography; unfortunately most people don’t understand what the different modes are for, how they work, or how to use them. Know your modes Depending on your camera, you’ll find metering options either in the menu or with their own separate control. In cameras with a fully-automatic setting, this will usually disable the metering options; automatically selecting multi-zone metering as the best option for day-to-day scenes and snapshots. The most common light metering modes are found on nearly all digital cameras. They are spot metering, centre-weighted metering and matrix metering. The symbols used…

Camera shake is the unwanted movement of the camera taking the shot and of the subject of the shot. Modern cameras offer image stabilisation and it can work well up to a point but the lower the light, the more the likelihood is that your shots will be blurry as you need longer shutter speeds to gather enough light for a balanced exposure. If you buy one thing to go with your new camera, make it a tripod. Use a robust tripod and your images will be rock steady in all manner of challenging shooting situations.…

Even the best pros had to pick up a camera for the first time. There are any number of photography forums that you can join and then get advice from other photographers. Why not join a local photography club? It’s a great way to meet fellow like-minded photographers of varying skill levels. It’s is also a good way of getting motivated to get out and take more photos. You’re also more likely to be able to chat with those who are well versed in using software to post-process their images.…

An average human, taking a photograph, is viewing the world from their eye level of about 5 feet. Simply changing that viewing angle can radically alter the shot. As a simple rule of thumb, shoot from low down, shoot from high up. Getting above or below your subject alters how you present your subject and how they fit in the world that’s around them. You can play with wide angle shots or telephoto shots. You have an amazing amount of choice. Anything to break away from the eye level world that we are used to.…

You can capture amazing photos of the stars on a clear night by setting your camera on a tripod, setting the aperture to its widest position and using the ‘B’ exposure setting and a cable release to hold the shutter open for five or six minutes. Make sure you’re well away from any light sources such as street lights or passing cars. If you point your camera towards the Pole Star (or the Southern Cross) you’ll capture the apparent circular motion of the stars as the Earth rotates.…

There are many rules and guidelines for photographic composition but one that applies most often to landscape photography is the concept of leading lines. When composing your shot, try to find lines in the scene, such as roads, rivers, railway lines or hedges. Frame your shot so that these lines will lead the viewer’s eye into and through the scene. They will also help to give the scene a sense of scale and perspective and this will also help with your composition. It doesn’t matter if they are straight or curved.…

Now you’re familiar with how your camera works and how to use its many features, you’re ready to start learning the creative techniques that professional photographers use to achieve great results time after time. By learning and using a few simple techniques you can turn your photographs from well taken snapshots into works of art of which you can be proud. Professional photographers use some very simple tricks and rules-of-thumb that have been developed over many years, including rules of composition that are inspired by classical art. Combined with technical skill and a thorough understanding of the principles of photography that we laid out in the previous section, these artistic methods produce well balanced, attractive photographs that will really stand out. However the true artistic inspiration that differentiates a talented…

“It’s important to choose the right lens for the job, but top quality DSLR lenses are very expensive.” Digital SLR systems offer the greatest versatility of any photographic system, and represent the best compromise between quality and portability. The best CSC systems are still some way behind, but are catching up fast. There are lenses and other accessories available to suit every type of photography, both amateur and professional. It is worth being aware that top quality DSLR lenses command top prices. This photographer is using a very specialist lens to get this wide-angle photo of a bride and groom. The extreme nature of the distortion this lens gives you is apparent in the visible curvature of the building and the wide angle of view makes for a creative image.…

Whether you are a beginner, an enthusiast or a seasoned professional, Canon’s range of cameras and accessories means that there is something for everyone. From stylish compact cameras, to entry level DSLRs and top of the range professional equipment; the range available to choose from is huge. Over the following pages we’ll take a look at the primary Canon range with easy at a glance specifications to help you decide which type of camera is right for you, along with some pros and cons to help refine your choices. We start with a few choice compact cameras and then move on to more advanced models such as the EOS M range and APS-C crop sensor and full-frame DSLRs. We also have a breakdown of lenses for EOS M, crop-sensor and…

EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM £1889/$2099/€2571 A precision ultra-wide-angle lens. ◼ L-series construction with dust and moisture sealing ◼ Aspherical and UD lens elements ◼ Circular aperture ◼ Super Spectra coatings ◼ Rectilinear design Filter Size: Gelatine type Pros: Very low distortion for such a wide lens. Image sharpness second to none. Cons: The 16-35mm wide-angle zoom could be a cheaper option. It’s a very expensive lens. EF 35mm f/2 IS USM £399/$549/€543 A versatile standard f/2 prime lens. ◼ Up to four stops of image stabilisation ◼ Fast f/2 maximum aperture ◼ Ultrasonic AF for quick focusing ◼ Compact, lightweight design ◼ Eight-bladed aperture for smooth bokeh ◼ Moulded glass elements for sharpness ◼ 0.24m minimum focus distance Pros: Very good quality and sharpness for a non-L series lens. IS…

Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM £520/$499/€584 A versatile high-quality 35mm lens for the EOS R mirrorless system. ◼ Maximum aperture of f/1.8 ◼ 5 stops image stabilisation ◼ 11 elements in 9 groups ◼ 9 diaphragm blades ◼ Closest focusing distance 0.17m ◼ 63° diagonal angle of view Pros: Fast AF system. Amazing build quality. Great sharpness with sharp corners wide open. Cons: Not a true 1:1 macro lens. Some vignetting visible. Noisy AF motor. Some distortion visible. Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM £2687/$2699/€2999 An L series prime lens with incredible low light performance. ◼ Maximum aperture of f/1.2 ◼ Smooth, fast, USM motor ◼ 13 elements in 9 groups ◼ 9 diaphragm blades ◼ Closest focusing distance 0.85m ◼ 28° diagonal angle of view Pros: Fast autofocus. Highest…

Modern Canon cameras are marvels of miniaturised technology, with many automatic functions to help you take good photos in a wide range of different situations. However by learning more about how your camera works and how to use its many features you can expand the scope of your photography and get good results every time, even in difficult conditions. For owners of more advanced DSLRs there are options such as aperture and shutter speed control, sensitivity and white balance, as well as creative light metering modes and manual focusing, all of which can be used creatively to make your photos really stand out. Photography is a rewarding and potentially profitable hobby, and the more you learn about it the more you’ll get out of it. Read on and find out…

The shutter of your camera is simply a mechanical barrier that prevents light from entering the camera until it is needed, controlling when and for how long light is allowed in to expose the sensor. The latest digital cameras have high-speed electro-mechanical shutters capable of timing exposures with an accuracy measured in fractions of a millisecond. Along with the aperture setting and the sensitivity control, shutter speed is one of the three ways that photographic exposure is adjusted. When a picture is taken, the shutter is opened for a precisely measured amount of time allowing light to pass through. The duration of the exposure is set either automatically by the camera’s light meter or manually by the photographer. The wider the range of available shutter speeds, the greater the creative…

Anyone who has owned a digital camera for a while will be familiar with the concept of image noise. It’s that grainy distortion that spoils pictures shot in low light conditions with high ISO settings. What is image noise, where does it come from and what can be done to prevent it? All electronic devices generate noise. The background hiss of a radio, the sound of an over-amplified electric guitar, or the interference on a badly tuned television, all of these things are electronic noise, and so is the noise seen in a digital photograph. This noise comes from a variety of sources. Some of it is generated by imperfections in the electronic components, or as a by-product of their normal operation. For instance, capacitors generate a small amount of…

If your camera has the option to let you shoot Raw images, use it. A Raw image is the key to much greater post-processing possibilities. Raw images, as the name suggests, are just unprocessed raw data straight from the camera sensor with all the information you need to bring out a beautiful photograph. The act of cropping the shot into a more pleasing aspect ratio can save an image, as can turning it to black and white. The choices are endless, even if it’s just contrast, saturation, brightness and sharpness.…

Consider using longer exposures in your landscape shots. Photographers often employ exposures that last seconds or even tens of seconds, to show clouds streaking across the sky rather than looking static and puffy. Scenes shot with a much longer exposure will turn the water to a misty, milky fog. It is safe to say that your tripod is the key to the success of these shots, as is a good set of ND filters to drive up those exposure times. Filters around the 4 - 8 stop range are perfect.…

Depth of field is the distance between the nearest and most distant objects in a scene that are in focus and acceptably sharp. It is controlled by a combination of aperture and focal length and is an important creative tool for improving your photographs. Use a shallow depth of field (with a wide aperture) to isolate subjects against a blurred background, or use a large depth of field (narrow aperture) to capture an entire scene in sharp detail. Portrait photographers love shallow depth of field.…

Photographers have a phrase, the “golden hour”, which refers to the first and last hours of light in the day, but particularly the special light one only sees at dawn. To capture a shot like the one on this page requires not only precise control of exposure, but also the dedication and patience to wake up while it’s still dark and get set up to take the photo before the sun rises. Since that beautiful morning mist depends on the weather conditions, you might have to try several mornings in a row to get a shot this good. You have to be really committed to your art to go above and beyond! As for the technical aspects of the shot, the photographer has used a medium wide focal length of…

“It’s best to take this sort of photo on a day that’s bright, but not too sunny, because it’s easy to burn out highlights on a longer exposure.” This mist-like waterfall effect is very popular and looks great when it’s done right. It looks challenging, but in fact it’s very easy to set up. All you need is a tripod and any camera with manual shutter speed control. The hardest part is finding a stream or river that has a nice photogenic waterfall or some rapids. Use your common sense and always exercise caution around fast-moving water; it may be deeper than it looks, with strong currents. It’s best to take this sort of photo on a day that’s bright, but not too sunny, because it’s easy to burn out…

Being a photographer, you may be called upon to shoot many varied subjects. Some of them may not exactly be as exciting or creative but that is the nature of the job. Not all of us have the option to shoot in exotic locations with masses of equipment and a plethora of supermodels. In point of fact, the reverse is the norm for a jobbing photographer. You are more likely to be swapping Portofino for Portsmouth. Even though you may not be a jet-set photographer, there are times when you get to have some fun and have the chance to experiment with some great photographic and lighting techniques to deliver a finished result that the client is happy with. The idea Just such an opportunity came our way recently. Suzy,…